One Wrong House
by Luc4ris
Summary: Two low level thugs decide to have one last score... At Wayne Manor


Rob sat in the dingy diner, sipping his coffee. It was late, just after sundown, and he was starting to get a little uneasy. It was a rough neighborhood out there, and, while there might be honour among thieves, he didn't like sitting out too late at night with nothing to keep him busy. Especially since that Bat-freak. It almost amused him, how that weirdo lunatic seemed to actually pull some of the small timers together, that is if there was even a piece in this dirty rotten rat hole of a town not controlled by one of those circus freaks.

He was deep in thought, idly stirring his coffee, so he didn't here the faint jingle of the bell when his associate entered, and slipped into the booth across from him.

"Heya Bert!"

"Jesus Will", he said, as he ever so slightly flinched at the sudden noise pulling him back to reality, "You should know better than to sneak up on me like that."

"Heh, what, think I was the Batman? He doesn't use doors, he comes through the window."

"You coulda been one of the other freaks 'round here."

"I guess that's true" Will flagged down a waitress and ordered a coffee and a slice of pie, and then began to fill Rob in on the plan.

The two men made quite a pair, both mid thirties, a little rough for ware, Rob with his face covered in scruff, and his nose oddly bent as if it was broken, which it had been, three times, by the ever infamous Batman. He wore a worn out white shirt, torn and stained jeans, and a beat up leather jacket, with heavy steel toed boots. He was stalkier then Will with an extra 30 lbs, most used to be muscle, but his numerous run-ins with the Bat had made him seek more on the level work. He used to be an enforcer for a local crime boss, some wanna-be big shot, that rolled over and begged when Black Mask took over the drug market. Now he mostly sticks to odd jobs, a little contracting here, some delivery there, but, despite his better judgment, every time Will would call, he would answer, and always say this would be the last time, and with each score almost working out, he would almost have enough to go legit for good, maybe even afford a surgery to fix up his bum leg, so he could stop using a cane in the winter.

Will, on the other hand was leaner, and taller, with long, light fingers, used to be the best pick pocket in the city, and was also a fantastic lock pick and safe cracker. He wore his usual jean coat, and finger less gloves, a small key hanging from a silver chain on his neck.

"So anyway," He started, between a mouthful of Key Lime pie, "I was thinking we'd do somethin' nuts, ya know, 'cause ya wanna quit and all."

"Would you get to the point?"

"OK, OK... As I was sayin', how's about we hit the big one?"

"Big one?"

"Yeah, Wayne Manor!"

Rob stared for a second, then sighed, leaned forward, and hung his head.

"Look Will, I appreciate your undying enthusiasm, but this is Wayne Manor, sure its big, and I'm sure it has some big ole family safe behind a painting or a fake clock or something, just loaded with who knows what, but don't you think, someone who lost their parents to a mugging in an alley, would have a little bit more sophisticated security? I mean the guy is an eccentric billionaire exec, with no kid or wife or worry about, so he can by the top of the line shit."

"And I'm the best code breaker in the city! Nothing he has could be more difficult then that time we broke into Blackgate to bust that one guy out. I have been doing some preliminary scoping, he lives alone with his fucken old butler, I crack the gates, you take away Jeeves' cane, bam, we split with as much loot as we can carry, and pop off up to Metropolis to fence it, and never come back here again."

"No Will, I absolutely refuse, I can not, and will not condone this. It's impossible, and we're not doing it and that's final!"

It was about nine at night a week later when they sat in Rob's repurposed van. The exterior was remade to look like a generic plumbing company, complete with a mural on each door, making it look like they were sitting on toilets. Inside, however, was a rather impressive, improvised surveillance set up, most of which home made, and was currently monitoring the master bedroom where the young owner of the palatial manor was just finishing up his late night work out and getting read to get into bed.

The sat there, wearing darker clothes, that fit them snugly, so to prevent snagging on any loose corners and leaving behind trace evidence. They traded in their heavier boots for lighter, treadles sneakers, with a wide soul, so to leave unrecognizable tracks.

"See, nine, like I said! Ya'd think with his cash he'd be up all night partying and drinking, doing drugs, and fucken every girl that gets near him."

Rob was ignoring Will for the most part, his thoughts racing as he reviewed the blue prints the snagged from the archives a couple days ago.

"Say's here the entire building is about as old as Gotham itself, lots of secret passages and false walls." He pointed to a section of the floor plan, "Here, that's the best place to hide a secret room, the plans say that this particular wall and section of the house is built over one of the old caves, and if half the rumors of him are true, I wouldn't put it past him to put in a secret man cave filled with all kinds of rare and unusual pieces of art, and the like."

"Well," started Will as he unbuckled and opened his door, "What are ya waiting for a golden ticket?" Rob sighed heavily, hopped out, and took out a cigarette. As he lit it, he turned back to the van and grabbed a pair of empty duffle bags.

"Look, one more time, this is it. We go in, grab whatever looks expensive, and we can actually carry, and get out. The plans indicate our best shot at getting in is through the cemetery on the grounds, into the servants entrance, to the main study, then we look for something on the wall that might be hiding a switch or a latch or a door." Will nod his understanding, and pulled on his balaclava, and once Rob finished his smoke, he did the same, shut the van, and they both took off at a light sprint towards the back of the property.

The yard was longer then the anticipated, and when they got to one end they decided that, the house wasn't going no where, so they slowed to a light jog, ducking as good as they could into whatever shadows they could find. They had been doing this for a very long time, and mastered the art of communicating without a word. So far nothing seemed to be alarmed, and the servant's entrance was barely even locked. With a slight click Will smirked and quietly swung open the door.

The boys took out two, red tinted flashlights, and turned them on, heading straight to the study, and they both couldn't believe how easy it was, every now and then stopping to listen, but it had hardly been a minute when they reached the study. Will raised his fist, and Rob couldn't help but roll his eyes and half smile while silently touching knuckles, because, right infront of them, on the far side of the study, was a mostly empty wall, with just a grandfather clock. And a broken on at that, the hands frozen in place, the clock stood exactly where Rob theorized a hidden door should be. As they advanced, Rob swept the room, making sure to check and recheck for signs that anyone would be coming, but he guess the butler must be sleeping. The house was eerily silent while they both tried to move the clock, pushing in one way, then the next, only to eventually figure out that it was hinged, and the locking mechanism was linked not to a key, but the hand of the clock itself. Panic washed over Rob, but Wil whipped out his smart phone, also covered in a red filter to dim the light, and began to quickly do research on possibly important times to the Wayne's, when it occuried to Rob that, as it should happen, he knewon time in particular that was the most important to Bruce Wayne, the prince of Gotham, a time that changed his life forever, and reached up, opened the protect glass face, and adjusted the hands to 10:47, and with another faint click, the clock freed itself from the wall, revealing a staircase.

"How did you guess that?" Whispered Will.

"My uncle was a paramedic that night, and one doesn't forget picking up the two wealthiest elites in the city, at 10:47 at night. Figured he'd use it as a code, seeing as not many people would be privy to such information."

They scuttled down the stairs as quickly as possible while trying to remain quite, and they soon began to hear an odd squeaking. At first the tensed up, thinking one of them tripped some kind of alarm, butthen they realized it was a bat, stuck in the tunnel with them. They recomposed themselves, a little unsure why this guy wouldn't just hire an exterminator for his obvious bat problem, and continued down the stairs, until they came to another door, this one was a bit heavier, and obviously thicker. Rob suggested this was the family vault, so it was probably lined with lead. Will stuggled just a bit, but after a miute of fidgeting he managed to crack the lock, and they walked out into the vast room beyond the door, and stared in shock at the one thing they never would have expected to find.

The room, no cave, because it was very clearly a cave, was massive, with hundreds of bats just starting to wake up, the floor was finished granite, and had catwalks and scaffolding runing between various platforms, but what caught thier eye was the giant computer just a few feet to the right. They couldn't believe it, the tech must have cost a fortune. Rob counted twelve monitors, each on angles so you could sit in the compute chair and see them all, and he could hardly contain himself as he walked over to the keyboard. It was standard sized, but the keys were weird symbols and glyphs. _This Wayne guy must really like his private porn stash, _he thought to himself, but before he could probe further, his thoughts were interuppted by Will's voice "What do'ya make of that?" He asked, gesturing to a giant penny, as well as a statue of a T. Rex. The pair slowly walked closer, when Rob noticed something that made his blood run cold. Before he could alert Will all the lights turned on and a deep hoarse voice spoke out, "Enjoying your tour?"

The two whipped towards the voice and saw _him..._The Batman stood at the base of the stairs, his body cloaked in his cape, the white emotionless eye the only part of his face that was visible. Rob tensed up, readying himself for the all to familar fist, when Will spoke up again.

"Look man, Batman, , sir, we had no chance on the streets against you, if its all the same to you I'd rather keep my ribs in one piece, just show us how to get out of here and we promise not to say a word."

Will's voice might have been calm, but his body betrayed his fear, as every beat down rushed into his head. Batman took one giant step forward, silent as the dead, his eyes squinting down toa lazer focus.

"Robert Caine and William Finger, you two low level thugs picked the wrong house, but I'll let you off this time, get out how you came in, and leave Gotham."

They didn't need a second warning and they side past him towards the stairs.


End file.
